The Pd nanoparticles decorated hollow SnO2 nanofibers (NFs) were synthesized by the electrospinning technique and the wet decorating process. The properties of the sensing material were characterized by X-Ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM). Compared with the pure SnO2 NFs gas sensor, the optimum operating temperature of Pd decorated hollow SnO2 NFs gas sensor dropped to 160 degrees C from 180 degrees C. The response to 100 ppm formaldehyde (HCHO) was raised to 18.8 from 5.4. Furthermore, the response-recovery characteristics were enhanced a lot. It is believed that its high gas sensing performance is derived from the hollow structure and the catalysis of Pd nanoparticles. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.